


First Pride

by posingasme



Category: Supernatural
Genre: All flags all ships welcome, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bisexual Sam Winchester, Canon Gay Relationship, Canon Lesbian Character, F/F, First Pride, Gay Castiel (Supernatural), Gay Rights, Kings & Queens, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, Polyamory, Pride Parades
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-08
Updated: 2019-08-08
Packaged: 2020-08-11 18:17:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20157976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/posingasme/pseuds/posingasme
Summary: Sastiel meets Dreamhunter when Sam and Castiel take Claire and her lover Kaia to their first Pride event. They meet up with some of the rest of the Family there.





	First Pride

**Author's Note:**

  * For [50shadesofsubtext](https://archiveofourown.org/users/50shadesofsubtext/gifts).

Jody looked more grateful than Castiel really felt was necessary. “I owe you guys. Seriously.”

Sam was smiling. “Sheriff, it’s no big deal. We’re happy to do it.”

“Any other weekend, you know?”

Castiel watched Sam’s hand grip Jody’s arm in a warm gesture. “Hey. I know. It’s okay. Donna’s taking Alex and Patience for a girls weekend. Cas and I have Claire and Kaia. You take care of you. Okay?”

At last, he spoke up. “I don’t understand the source of your guilt regarding tomorrow’s festivities. If you’re busy, you shouldn’t feel guilty about that. You are a good ally, Sheriff Mills, both as a hunter and in a sociopolitical sense. You have nothing to feel guilty about. Sam and I are the perfect choices to chaperone Claire and her friend.”

Sam’s intelligent, kind gaze remained on the woman’s face. “Ten years is a long time, Jody. But time doesn’t heal all wounds. Some wounds stay with you no matter how much time has passed. And ten years ago this weekend, you lost the two most important people in your life. The last thing you need is to feel like you’re not there for your girls now. You’re an amazing guardian, Jody. You deserve a weekend to be a mom and a wife, to grieve those two the way you need to. Sometimes, this life we lead, it doesn’t slow down long enough to let us breathe, let alone reflect on what it’s taken from us. We need that. You gotta take the time to feel stuff now and then. It’s there anyway, whether you deal with it or not. So give yourself permission to deal with it.”

Tears sparkled in her eyes, but she smiled up at him. “That what you do?”

Sam snorted softly. “That’s the opposite of what I do. But I’m not exactly a role model.”

Castiel smiled too. Dean had said something just like that when Castiel was feeling guilty for what he had put the Novak family through. It never ceased to make his heart swell each time Sam and Dean did that. They were so different most of the time, and then they were exactly the same for just an instant, and he was reminded why he adored them both. Sometimes their movements or subtle mannerisms were so incredibly synchronized that Castiel couldn’t help but stare in awe at his favorite humans. Angels were all built to be virtually identical, though no two truly were. But these brothers were paradoxically the polar opposites and yet also shared two halves of the same heart. He couldn’t explain it even to himself. But he liked it.

“Thank you, Sam,” Jody sighed. “Come Monday, I’ll be ready to get back to work, whether that means sheriffing, or slicing through vamp heads, or giving advice about everything from moisturizer to how to lose a guy in ten minutes. But you nailed it. I just need a weekend to cry about my son and my husband. And while I’m at it, I’ll probably cry about Bobby and Asa, and everybody else. But it’s the tenth anniversary of you having to…”

Castiel watched Sam flinch. “I’m so sorry, Jody. I’ll never stop being sorry for what we had to do that day.”

Jody reached for his hand and squeezed it. “You freed him. It’s how I’ve always thought of it, you know. You didn’t kill him. He was already gone. You freed him. And I’ll never stop being grateful that I wasn’t the one who had to do it.”

Sam nodded, but there was too much emotion in his throat to say anything else.

“Take care of my girls this weekend. They deserve to spend time celebrating what they have. And I need to grieve what I’ve lost.” She stood on her toes to hug Sam, then surprised the angel by doing the same to him. “You two? You’re freaking adorable, you know that? I’m glad you’ll be celebrating what you two have too.”

He stared at her, but Sam was recovering his voice. “Thanks, Jody.”

As they walked away from the cabin, Castiel felt Sam’s heavy sigh. He glanced at him. “Are you all right?”

Sam smiled. “Yeah. Let’s go take the girls to their first Pride event.”

“It hasn’t been so long since we went to our first.”

“Yeah. I know. Here we are introducing the next generation to the Family. I’m kind of proud of that.”

“It’s too bad Jody isn’t able to enjoy the festivities.”

“It’s all right. This weekend is all about love. Love is hard, and it hurts sometimes. But it’s always worth it in the end.”

Castiel gazed at him happily. “I hope it is. For you.”

“Always.”

***

Jesse was already complaining about the heat, and Cesar was already a little tipsy. Sam laughed at the two of them. “Cesar!” he called. “You didn’t wait for me?”

“Just a bit of pregaming, my friend,” the man returned.

Sam initiated quick hugs. Castiel had admitted once that he found that interesting, the way Sam suddenly became a hugger at events like this. He had pointed out that, other than himself and Dean, he rarely had physical contact with almost anyone. That had surprised Sam, but upon reflection, he supposed it shouldn’t have. Yes, he hugged Claire and Jody, and a few others, but he often went weeks at a time without allowing touch from anyone at all, even his brother and lover. Something about Pride was different. Something about it made him less reserved, less careful. He was just so relieved to be among people who would accept him for whatever he was. He had spent his whole life aching to be normal, when he was the furthest thing from that he could possibly imagine. It was just so nice once in a while to be among Family that didn’t expect normalcy from him. Not that his own family expected that either. But this was different. These people here in this community fought hard to be exactly what they were, and it was comforting to be reminded to accept himself now and then too. And apparently that turned him into a hugger.

Claire snickered behind him. “Hey, Uncle Sam?” she teased. “Gonna introduce us to your friends?”

He smirked at her. “Patience, Padawan.”

Kaia swatted at her with her usual shy demeanor. “Don’t be rude.”

The young hunter rolled her eyes. “Sam’s the one being rude. Like we aren’t even here.”

Castiel frowned at her. “There is no chance that we can forget you’re with us,” he said in a droll tone. “You criticized me, my car and my driving the entire way here.”

Sam laughed again at Claire’s beautiful bitchface. He liked to pretend it had somehow been inherited from him. “Cesar, Jesse, these are friends of ours. Claire and Kaia. They’re new to the Family. And to the family business.”

Cesar’s eyebrows lifted. “Ah. Baby hunters.”

Jesse scowled at them all. “They aren’t babies. Hunters are never children. I never was. Treat them with respect they deserve.”

Claire grinned. “Sam? I like this guy. Better than I like you, I think.”

Sam threw his hands in the air. “Good! Jesse, I hope you know you’ve just adopted a baby badass. Good luck to all involved!”

Kaia gave Claire a giggle. “So? What do we do?” She was staring out at the prismatic field of characters in all directions with a sense of awe and quiet excitement.

He remembered feeling the same way. He put a gentle arm around her, and caught Castiel smiling at him in his periphery. Sam was getting downright snuggly. “So the history of Pride is about fighting for recognition, for fair treatment and protesting discrimination. It’s about safety and power in numbers.”

“We don’t need the textbook lecture, Professor,” Claire muttered.

Sam and Castiel exchanged glances. “Who does that remind you of?”

His lover began to laugh, and that pleased Sam. Castiel could tease him all he liked about becoming more tactile but the angel smiled more at these events too. “Claire, Dean said exactly the same when he came to his first Pride.”

Kaia looked back at them. “Dean’s gay too?”

“No,” Castiel clarified. “But he insisted on coming with us the first time we attended one. To show his support. Which we appreciated, but he groaned every time Sam tried to give him insight into the traditions, claiming it was too academic.”

“He’s an ally,” Sam added. “But he’s still an asshole.”

Castiel hummed in agreement.

“What’s that?”

Jesse turned to look where Kaia was pointing. He shrugged. “That’s the merch area. Come on. I’ll take you over.”

She beamed at him. “Is that where you got this shirt?”

Jesse glanced down at his own chest, and Sam was amused to see the grumpy hunter’s face warming pink. “Oh. Yeah, at a Pride a few years back.”

Claire squinted to read it. “If there’s anything we’ve learned from Harry Potter, it’s that no one should live in a closet.” She snorted. “I love that.”

Cesar pointed at his own proudly.

Kaia began giggling. “I’m the guy my husband’s parents warned him about,” she read. “Claire? Can we see if there’s one like that...for us?”

Claire’s eyes sparkled. “Am I the chick your parents warned you about?”

“Nobody could have adequately warned me about you.”

“Ooh! Those boots!”

They all looked up to find four figures walking toward them. Sam sighed, but he smiled too. “Hey, Max.”

Kaia was staring, and so was Castiel. “Hello?”

But Max Banes only had eyes for Claire. “Honey? I’m sorry you didn’t get the memo. No bitches prettier than me allowed.”

“Excuse me?” one of his companions demanded.

The man was dressed as a 1920s flapper, with red lipstick, and tassels that didn’t hide his long, shaved legs; his heels were at least four inches high, and his dark skin glowed in the sun with the help of rhinestones and glitter. He smirked. “You’re always the exception, Queen C.”

Charlie nodded. “That’s right. Don’t forget it.”

Sam hugged them all, beginning with Charlie, then her wives, and lastly Max himself. Castiel’s eyes were narrowed, but he remained silent, even when Max pushed in to kiss Sam’s lips gently. Sam jolted backward, into Castiel’s steady arms.

Charlie elbowed Max in his silver sequined chest. “Knock it off. Don’t be a bitch.”

Max rubbed his wound dramatically. “Don’t be a butch,” he countered poutily.

Dorothy snorted. She was holding Gilda’s hand but now she squared her shoulders with Max. “Don’t go there. Alicia gave me permission to slug you if you got stupid. It was part of the agreement regarding you wearing her dress today.”

Max shrugged. “It looks best on me.” Then he began to smile again, this time more sincerely. “But for real. Who are these gorgeous girls? And where did you get those boots?” He slid one arm around Claire’s waist, and the other around Jesse’s. “Did I hear someone say merch? Let’s go, girls.”

Cesar suddenly felt the need to accompany his husband to the tables and tents nearby, and he gestured to Kaia to join him. Dorothy grumbled something about Claire seeming perfectly capable of destroying “The Dapper Flapper,” if necessary, and Charlie announced that she wanted to go piss off some screaming protestors by kissing her wives directly across the street from them. Gilda tugged quietly on both their sleeves, and they hurried off to do just that.

Just like that, Sam and Castiel were alone again.

“Are you all right?”

“I’m proud of you for not smiting him.”

Castiel’s lips quirked into a smile. “I am too.”

Sam snickered. “He’s a bit much at these things. But I think he needs it. You know?”

Castiel knew. And that was yet another thing Sam loved about him. “He spends every day of his life hiding what he really is.”

He nodded, and stared after the queen and his entourage. “Not his sexuality, but nearly everything else. His magic. His hunting. Everything. It’s really hard leading a secret life, Cas. So I guess things like this…” He snorted softly. “Even those of us who don’t have to hide everything have to hide something. That’s probably true of everyone here.”

Sam looked out over the field of colors, the bright tents, dyed hair, tattoos, dresses, costumes, makeup, and flags.

He didn't like to march. It terrified him to think a camera might pick up his face, or that of one of his hunter friends, and expose them to monster who had a grudge.

For that matter, he was entirely positive there were monsters among them, mostly benign ones just participating like everyone else, but some predators too. At their second pride, Sam had spotted a pair of black eyes among a church group protesting. He and Castiel had taken care of that as quietly and privately as possible, by exorcism. It turned out that the meatsuit was actually a pretty nice Christian guy who was disgusted to learn he had been screaming at families at a Pride parade. He had been convinced this was a schizophrenic episode and apologized incessantly that he had perpetuated the impression that “all Christians hate gay people! That’s not the real me! I don’t know what came over me! It’s like-it’s like the Devil made me do it!” Castiel had corrected him in a huff, stating dryly that, while Lucifer was not above inciting hate in the hearts of good men, it was only a low-level demon who had possessed him. Sam had hurried the angel away with a rushed, “Good luck, man. Enjoy the festivities.”

Sam didn’t march in the parade. It wasn’t him. He was there, and he was a part of the fight in his own way. But parading one part of himself risked exposing the rest of himself, which he could never do. Other than Charlie, who led a small contingent from Moondor, Sam didn’t know any hunters who felt comfortable taking part in the march.

But he was there. He was there.

“Hunters have to hide their whole lives,” he murmured to Castiel. “We already don’t fit in anywhere we go. But here...At least here, we can be with other people who have never been normal either. Normal doesn’t exist here. Hunting is about fighting, and nobody knows how to do that like these people. Every one of us reacts to gatherings like this differently, but we all seem to get a little giddy and...and this sense of relief…”

“Comradery is important,” Castiel acknowledged. “For me, I love coming and feeling like one among many again. I've been endlessly outnumbered for many years now. My allies are powerful, but few. I was once a part of a much larger group. Angels...we need comradery. I’ve often wondered if many of my brethren might have done as I did, if not for the fear of being alone. It’s a chilling thing, to be part of a Host, to be legion, and then to be one.”

Sam turned to him then, and brushed his lips with his own.

He thrilled with the way they could kiss openly here and no one noticed, much less disapproved. Even Dean, who was infinitely supportive of their relationship, got squeamish when it came to displays of affection. Of course, since it was Dean, that might have been the case no matter what.

“Your allies are few, Cas, but we love you. I love you.” He bent at the neck to put their foreheads together. “I love you so, so much.”

The blue eyes gazed up at him with open adoration. “I love you, Sam.”

The rest of the day was spent kissing on the grassy hill above the main events, sharing stories and jokes and festival food with their friends, and watching the colors dance. Charlie danced with Gilda to the music over the loudspeakers, and then she and Dorothy sat back to watch the faerie dance by herself. Claire’s lips had parted with awe as she watched too, and Kaia had teased her gently about it. Jesse and Cesar had a fight about nothing, then the next thing Sam knew, they were laughing and kissing one another as though nothing had occurred. Kaia showed off her new leggings, with a rainbow stripe down one hip and thigh, and the other with a pretty rainbow font stating, “I’m narrow, but not straight.” Sam figured the material must be soft, because Claire hadn’t stopped petting it yet.

Max joined Gilda as she danced, and they attracted a small crowd, including one particularly sweet-looking young man who couldn’t stop biting his own lip long enough to return Max’s suggestive smile, but who Sam suspected was in for a magically educational night. He was glad. Max was exactly what he needed to be for a day. He would go back to his secrets tomorrow, but he wanted to let loose today. Sam wished him well, and he guessed the shy young man would have a night to remember for the rest of his life.

Everyone needed to be loved, at least for a little while.

The drive back to Jody’s, where Dean would meet up with them, was quiet. Kaia slept wrapped in Claire’s protective embrace. Castiel concentrated on driving and his own reflections on the day. Sam smiled at Claire behind Castiel. “She doesn’t sleep well usually,” he whispered.

The blond head shook. “She says she only sleeps soundly when I’m holding her. I don’t know if that’s true. But I don’t like to be away from her overnight, just in case.”

Sam nodded, and flicked his eyes at Castiel. “She’s lucky to have you. I sleep better with my angel watching over me too.”

Castiel very slowly seemed to become aware of what was being said. He glanced in the rearview mirror at her quickly, to see Claire’s reaction to being compared to an angel, to him.

But Claire was looking down at her lover, resting peacefully in her arms. She beamed at Sam’s words. “Yeah. That’s what it’s about, right? We fight so we can love.”

Sudden tears stung the backs of Sam’s eyes. “Yeah,” he breathed. “Yeah, Claire. That’s it exactly. Always keep fighting. And always keep loving.”

The determination in her eyes was powerful as she stroked Kaia’s hair from her face with a strong, tender touch. “Always,” she swore to herself.

Sam found Castiel’s free hand reaching to hold his, and he smiled as he turned to gaze out the window. Sleepy relief and quiet happiness filled him as his own eyes closed. It was good to be with Family. It never failed to remind him why he fought. He fought so he could love.

**Author's Note:**

> Author’s Note: I have attended a handful of Pride events in the past. No two Pride events are the same, but a lot of them have similarities which become familiar to those who attend. Music, a rich landscape of color, and a feeling of Family (including aunts you adore and cousins who weird you out, those you rush over to hug and those you love but from a distance) are some of those things you see at every event. 
> 
> I tried to represent a variety of Family members, personalities and sexualities here. I did not address gender here, but please assume all Identities are respected among this group of friends. I don’t explicitly say that Sam is bisexual, but I wrote him with that in mind. Same with Kaia being on the ace spectrum-not stated but head-canoned by the author. In any case, imagine these friends any way you like! The whole point is that it doesn’t matter how they identify or don’t, how they see romantic, platonic or sexual love, or what they see as a satisfying relationship. They’re all fighting for love. 
> 
> ~Posing


End file.
